Undeniable
by I Have a Paper Heart
Summary: She made it out alive. Barely. With a three year old girl in her arms. But what now? What was she supposed to do? At the end of the world, when all hope is lost... who do you possibly lean on? DarylxOC
1. Chapter 1

**Hiya everyone! So just like pretty much every other female viewer of the Walking Dead, Daryl Dixon has stolen my heart! So I thought I'd try my hand at a fic about him. Also, with the *Spoiler* birth of Judith, it kind of made me wonder how a much younger kid than Carl or Sophia would fair in an apocalyptic world. Someone at an age that doesn't understand. That doesn't know how vital it is to keep quiet when walkers are nearby. And who is unable to protect themselves. So hey, this is just two birds with one stone! **

**Starting from Season 1**

**Hope you like! Please let me know what you think in a review! Feel free to leave any suggestions you may have!**

* * *

"No!" Hailey shouted, slamming her hand down on the dash board. "No! No! No! Please, come on. Please just start… _Please_!"

She jiggled the car key desperately and held her breath as the engine gave a feeble gurgle and died once again.

"No! God damn piece of shit!" She shouted and banged her forehead down hard on the steering wheel.

"Language." Came a feeble voice from the back seat.

She lifted her head from the steering wheel and took in a deep breath to compose herself. Turning to look over her shoulder at the tiny three year old strapped up in the back seat, she offered a tired smile.

"Sorry Lacey," she said gently, "wasn't thinking."

Lacey scrunched her lips together and gave her older sister a disapproving look, the same one she herself and received from Hailey only hours earlier when she'd been heard using her 'potty mouth'.

Hailey bit her lip as she studied the tiny girl, her little dress covered in dirt and grime. Her blonde hair dulled and her usually bright brown eyes rimmed red from crying. It had been a tough couple of days. To say the least. The things that poor little girl had seen…

Hailey fought against the lump building in her throat. "How you doing back there, baby?"

"Good." She answered gently. "My eyes are just getting sleepy."

She rubbed her eyes with a chubby fist.

"Why don't you try and have a bit of a rest then?"

Before the sentence was even out Lacey shook her head adamantly. The fear was back in her eyes again. Lately, the only sleep she was getting was when she passed out from exhaustion in Hailey's arms, and even then her nightmares woke her.

"Ok," Hailey whispered, reaching back and giving Lacey's leg a soft squeeze. _I'm here._ "Listen, I've just got to check the engine. I want you to stay in here for me, alright?"

Lacey nodded. "Maybe we just runned out of gas?" She tried.

Hailey glanced back at the orange arrow pointed at the 'F' on the cars dashboard. They'd passed an abandoned gas station only four miles back. By some miracle there had been enough for Hailey to be able to fill the tank. She turned back to her sister with a soft smile.

"Yeah, that's probably all it is. Stay here, alright?"

Lacey nodded.

No sooner had Hailey grasped the door handle did every nerve in her body scream in protest. Animal instincts awakening within her, telling her not to open the door, telling her not to go out there. It had been the same at the gas station. Her pulse had quickened, adrenaline had coursed through her and all the oxygen in the world wouldn't have kept her from feeling as if she were suffocating. It wasn't safe out there. _They _could be out there. Anywhere. At any given time.

Hailey pushed open the door and cringed at the deafeningly loud sound her feet landing on the gravel of the road seemed to make. She scanned her surroundings as she closed the door behind her. All seemed quiet. All seemed still. After all, they were stopped on a winding road miles from anywhere. Nothing but trees to the left and nothing but trees to the right. Still, Atlanta sat just on the horizon behind them. What if they weren't just in the city anymore? What if they'd started to spread out?

Hailey moved slowly towards the front of the car, continuing to glance around her nervously as she popped the hood. When she looked down at the engine, hopelessness pulled at her chest. As far as she was concerned it was just an engine. She had no clue what she was looking for and even if she did, what did it matter? She couldn't fix it. They were stuck in the middle of nowhere with a useless car, one bottle of water and her good intentions.

The lump in her throat was back and this time Hailey let the tears come. She leaned over the engine, grateful that the hood of the car hid her from Lacey's line of sight as sobs shook through her body. She needed to be strong, but how? How could she? She had no idea what to do. They had barely made it out of Atlanta alive and now their only hope of escape had just died on them. What the hell was she supposed to do now?

Pushing her fingers into her temples, Hailey took a deep breath and evaluated her options. They could wait there and hope that someone who could help them would come along. She didn't like that idea much. It was far too hot out with the sun beating down on them, not to mention they hadn't passed a single car yet. Not likely anyone was heading their way anytime soon. Option two was to go looking for help. She didn't like that idea too much either. Going back the way they'd come wasn't an option, there was nothing left for them back there, and forwards… they had no idea what was in that direction. Just_ walking_ that way… exposed, vulnerable. Hailey's stomach churned at the thought. But still, help could really just be up around the corner for them… And so could more of those _things_.

Ok, so going to look for help, that was it. Next decision to make though was Lacey. Did she leave her here, hidden in the car or did she take her with her? Those things could be anywhere and it was downright dumb to have her walking about out here… but leaving her in the car – alone – in this heat. That was just as stupid. She'd be scared and vulnerable and all by herself. And what if something did happen and Hailey never came back for her?

Hailey wiped away her tears and took a breath to compose herself. She shut the hood as quietly as she could and rounded the car to Lacey's side.

"Ok button!" Hailey said as she pulled open the car door, doing her best to sound cheery. She winced inwardly, hearing just how fake her positive attitude sounded. Anyone older than Lacey would have detected just how put on it was. "Looks like you were right! Out of gas again."

Lacey gave a dramatic groan though there was a small smile on her face, she was just a little proud that she'd been right.

"So," Hailey said, leaning over and undoing the small girl's seatbelt, "You and I are gunna have to go for a little walk to find the next gas station!"

"How far away is that?" Lacey asked as Hailey scooped her up into her arms.

"I don't know, honey. It won't be far though, we just have to walk until we find something."

She set Lacey down beside her and reached back into the car to retrieve the small backpack filled with a very limited supply of water and food. She took the grey hoodie that had been beside it and tied it around her waist, put the backpack on and took Lacey's tiny hand in her own. She stilled for a moment as a thought awoke within her. She was quite literally holding everything she owned anymore. It all suddenly felt very heavy.

"You ready Button?" she asked, giving Lacey's hand a comforting squeeze.

"Ready." Answered the young blonde girl determinedly.

And so, hand in hand, they began walking.

* * *

An hour later the sun was still beating down on them relentlessly. She had sweat trickling down her back and pooling in places she'd much rather it didn't. She glanced down at Lacey. She was burnt, and she looked_ so_ tired, but she hadn't complained once. Their pace had slowed for her sake, but there hadn't been a peep out of her. The poor kid just needed to sleep.

"Lacey, come here." Hailey lifted her up and settled her on her hip. "Take a break, sweetie. You're doing so good, you know that?"

Lacey rested her head on her sister's shoulder. "Are we nearly there yet?"

"Almost… almost…"

"Someone will pro'ly find us soon." Lacey said gently.

"You think so?"

"Obi Kenobi lived in the desert." She pointed out matter-of-factly. "And he's a hero. He would help us."

Hailey smiled gently. "That's a good point, kiddo."

And that's when she heard it. The groaning, the growling, the scraping. Her heart stopped and she turned, watching as it emerged from the tree line. She hugged Lacey closer and pressed her head into the crook of her neck.

"Lacey," she whispered, "I want you to hold on tight to me, and keep your eyes closed, you understand?"

She felt Lacey nod and slowly she began to back away from the thing moving slowly towards them. It dragged itself, most of it's left leg had been eaten, slowing it down. It's face was ripped apart and from beneath the ragged shirt it wore, remainders of it's intestines hung, draping against it's thighs. Horrible teeth nashed at them. It was slow, but it was vicious.

Holding tight onto Lacey, Hailey turned and bolted into the woods, stumbling as she went over the fallen branches and jagged, uneven rocks. She could hear it moving behind them, chasing them. This thing was hungry and it wasn't going to stop.

Hailey looked around desperately for something to use as a weapon. There was nothing. Nothing she could use while she was holding onto Lacey and judging from the kid's grip, it wouldn't be too easy to pry her off of her.

The trees, they were the only option.

"Ok," she whispered to herself. "Ok. Lacey, you holding on nice and tight?"

"Yes." Lacey whimpered, clutching on even tighter.

"Alright. We're going to climb this tree until he gets bored and goes away."

And with that she moved to the largest tree in their immediate vicinity and hauled them upward. It was difficult to find and good grip and awkward with Lacey latched onto the front of her. Hailey's feet slipped several times and she hissed in pain as each time her ankles would scrape against the rough tree trunk, tearing back skin. Sweat beaded on her face and still she continued to reach for the next highest branch, and the next.

She heard its guttural sounds only moments before it's cold rotting hand curled around her leg. She screamed and tried to pull herself up higher. It's grip was far too strong, she couldn't shake it off.

Her limbs began to tremble. Pulling Lacey's weight as well as her own was too much. She was going to fall.

Hailey gritted her teeth. _No_. It was not going to end like this. She and her sister were _not_ going to be eaten by some _thing_ in the middle of the god damn woods. She looked down at it pulling at her leg again and with everything she could muster, she planted and almighty kick square in it's jaw. There was the telltale crack of something breaking and the thing fell to the ground beneath them. Hailey managed at last to haul herself and Lacey onto a branch and to temporary safety.

Her chest heaved as she leaned back against the tree and hugged Lacey who was still latched onto her for dear life.

"It's ok." She whispered to her. "We're safe up here, Lacey."

Lacey started to sob, and Hailey fought tears of her own as she held her closer.

"Shhh, it's ok Lacey. I'm not going to let anything hurt you, ok? I'm here. I'm right here."

Hailey's stomach churned as she glanced down to see the dead man pull himself to his feet once again. It's head hung against it's shoulder and ugly lumps protruded from it's neck. It seemed Hailey had managed to break it's neck, but it still got up. It just kept coming. The thing approached the tree and scraped up against the trunk. It was all it seemed to be able to do. Hailey had done enough damage to prevent it from climbing up after them. She breathed a sigh of relief but still never took her eyes away from the thing. They weren't safe, they were trapped.

Lacey's sobs pulled her from her thoughts and she gently stroked her hair. She hushed her gently, rocking her as best she could up on their perch and sang her a soft lullaby, praying that she'd soon cry herself to sleep.

"_If you be my star,_

_I'll be your sky._

_You can hide underneath me and come out at night._

_When I turn jet black and you show off your light,_

_I live to let you shine_

_I live to let you shine_

_But you can skyrocket away from me,_

_And never come back if you find another galaxy,_

_Far from here with more room to fly._

_Just leave me your stardust to remember you by…"_

As Lacey finally settled, despite the snarls sounding down bellow them, a tear slipped down Hailey's face. _God help us_. She begged_. Please just send someone… anyone to help us_.

Hailey looked down once more at the thing bellow her, just in time to hear the _thwk!_ as an arrow bolt shot through and embedded itself in the creature's temple. It fell to the ground with one last deathly gurgle.

"The hell you doin' up thur?"

Her eyes shot up, trying to locate the owner of the voice.

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**So! Chapter 1! What did we think? I'd love to know, guys! Thanks for reading, please review! :)**

**Song: _Boats and Birds_ by Gregory and the Hawk**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you sooo much for reading and reviewing last chapter! The only complaint I got was that it was too short, so I hope this is a little better :) I'd love to know what your thoughts are so please review! **

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The man emerged from the cover of the bushes perhaps fifteen feet away. The plants barely even rustled as he moved past them. His footfalls were near silent. Hailey glanced down quickly at the rotted body on the ground bellow her and then back to the stranger who had killed it. In those few seconds he had not only covered a surprising amount of ground between them, but also reloaded his crossbow and raised it towards her.

"You gon' come down from there, then?"

"W-who are you?" Hailey asked hesitantly.

"The guy who just saved your ass." He moved closer to the base of the tree, looking up at her over the flight groove of his weapon, finger poised above the trigger. "Now come on down here where I can see ya."

Hailey stiffened and felt her heart began to race. This guy could be anyone. He had them trapped in a tree, she had no idea who he was _and_ they were in the middle of nowhere. He could do anything to them and there was no one out here who could stop him. She gripped onto Lacey a little tighter who let out a small whimper.

The hunter heard it and took another step towards them, "'Cha got up there?"

Hailey felt tears brimming in her eyes. "A little girl."

He seemed to falter for a moment at that. Glaring up at them, he hesitated before lowering the crossbow ever so slightly. "You got any weapons on ya?"

"No." Wishing that hadn't been the answer to that question.

"Hailey, who is that?" Lacey asked, not daring to lift her head.

Hailey had jumped a little at the sound of Lacey's voice. She'd been so focused on the stranger and his crossbow that she'd almost forgotten Lacey was there. Hailey raised a shaking hand and stroked the tiny girl's hair back. "It's ok baby, the monster is gone. The man got rid of it."

Lacey slowly lifted her head and turned to look at the stranger. She stared at him with teary, frightened eyes and gave a pathetic sniff. The hunter stared back at her for a moment with a clenched jaw. He seemed to tense up at the sight of her even more for a brief moment before cursing and lowering the crossbow completely. He took the strap and slung it over his shoulder and moved without any further hesitation towards the base of the tree. His entire posture had changed. He no longer moved gracefully, he no longer looked dangerous. His posture was quite lousy actually, casual, though his eyes remained guarded. Nevertheless, the change in him was so dramatic that for a moment Hailey forgot her fear.

"Either one o' you hurt?" He asked.

Hailey shook her head, "just a few scratches."

"Anything from the walker? It bite you? Break any skin?"

"No… no, we got away in time."

The hunter grabbed onto the lowest branch and hauled himself upward. He moved easily up the tree, looking well experienced. Whoever he was, he wasn't out here just to escape from 'the walkers', he was well practiced in this lifestyle. As he came closer to them, Hailey resisted the urge to plant another kick. After all, she didn't know this guy and just because he'd saved them didn't make him good news.

She met his eye as his head rose to be almost level with hers and studied him. He was covered in dirt, sweat and grime. His clothes were rough looking and well worn, damp from sweat. His arms and what she could see of his chest were well toned – strong – and his hands were calloused. Rough. Every single thing about him was rough. But his eyes… piercing light blue eyes… there was just something in them…

Maybe, she thought, just maybe everything would be ok... Then again, she could just have been imagining it, seeing things that weren't really there because – like it or not – he was the only hope of help she had. She wanted _so_ badly to trust him.

"Give 'er here," he said as he held out a hand, his voice pulling her from her thoughts. "I'll carry her down, you just follow."

Both Hailey and Lacey hesitated, each clutching the other a little tighter. The reluctance of both females seemed to annoy him and he breathed out heavily.

"Look here, I ain't got all day. I ain't gunna hurt ya neither."

Lacey rested her head against Hailey's chest, her eyes never leaving the man's face. "Promise?" she murmured.

The hunter nodded. "Come on, kid."

Lacey leaned out to him and put her hand on his shoulders as he lifted her out of Hailey's grasp. With one arm wrapped around her tiny frame, he immediately began his decent. Hailey followed suit, not at all fond of the idea of some strange man carrying her sister away. She did her best to keep up, but the hunter moved far too effortlessly. He'd reached the ground before she'd even made it a third of the way down.

He placed Lacey on the ground beside him and looked back up to Hailey to watch her progress. He made no attempt to hide his impatience with her efforts, scowling and kicking tufts of grass in between glances up at her. When she reached the lowest branch, Hailey decided to jump the rest of the distance. She landed on her feet but pain jolted through her ankles as she jarred the joints a little. She huffed and made her way towards Lacey who was grinning up at the hunter as if nothing at all had happened. As if they hadn't just been running for their lives.

"I'm Lacey Beth Thomas." She said sweetly, holding out a hand to him. "It's a real pleasure to meet you, Mister."

The man snorted. "Daryl Dixon, kid. It's been a real thrill." His voice dripped with sarcasm. He turned away from her immediately, checking how far the sun had fallen.

Hailey glanced down at Lacey as she came nearer to her only to spot her steal a fleeting look at the dead walker. The fear, the unease, it was back. She seemed to shrink into herself, taking a tiny step back to hide behind the hunter's leg.

Hailey knelt down and cupped Lacey's cheeks with gentle hands. "Hey… don't look at that, ok? We're ok now, we're safe... Are you alright?"

Lacey just nodded and reached up to hug her sister.

"Come on then." The man was already walking away from the pair. "We best get back before dark."

Lacey followed without hesitation stumbling along behind him. Hailey, however, had questions.

"Get back where? Where are we going?"

"Back to camp." He called over his shoulder. "Group o' near twenty people. Bit o' food'n'shelter. A few weapons for defence." He looked Hailey up and down, "Better conditions than you been in anyway."

Hailey's stomach tightened unpleasantly. "Twenty men…"

He didn't miss the fear in her voice. "Men…" he answered. "Women and children too."

Hailey bit her lip and nodded. She didn't like the idea of marching into a campsite full of stranger men, just herself and a three year old child. After all, there were no laws anymore. No systems of authority in place. The only things that would keep her and Lacey safe now were smart decision and decency of others. Her stomach clenched.

They weren't going to last a week. They had no food or shelter, no weapons, nowhere to go. She hated it, but their best chance of survival was to follow this stranger to his camp and hope that he was telling them the truth.

Defeated, she took Lacey's hand and followed him.

"The hell you doin' out here in the middle o' nowhere anyhow?" The hunter asked, sounding agitated. "Y'all got a death wish?"

"Our car broke down, we went looking for help but that thing came after us, it chased us and… I broke it's neck. But it just got back up again."

"No amount o' broken bones'll do ya any good. You gotta go fer the brain. Only way ta stop them som'bitches."

"Language." Lacey piped up, hopping over shrubs and fallen branches as best she could in an attempt to keep in stride with the stranger.

Daryl threw the girl a strange look. Thrown off at the idea of being scolded by a toddler. No one put Daryl Dixon in his place, especially not some snot nosed kid.

"Lacey, don't be rude!" Hailey caught her round the middle, lifted her and sat the young girl on her hip. "Sorry" she said meekly. "We've uh, been having a few issues with naughty words lately."

Daryl snorted a little. "Whole world's gone to hell you're worried 'bout your kid cussin' a little?"

"Yes, actually. She's only three years old. I don't care what's happening, she'll grow up with manners."

Daryl glanced at the pair and caught Lacey rolling her eyes. He smirked.

"Don' listen to 'er kid. You stick with me. I'll teach ya words even your momma here ain't heard before." He told her, gesturing towards Hailey. "Got a real good one that starts with C."

Lacey scrunched her noise. "Hailey isn't my mommy! My mommy is hiding from the monsters in the city. She musta picked a real good spot too cause we couldn't find her!"

Daryl slowed for only a fraction of a second before clenching his jaw and scanning their surroundings once again. He didn't need to hear some kid's sob story.

"Come on. It'll be dark before long."

They walked for another forty minutes, passing rock after tree after shrub. As far as Hailey was concerned, they could have been going in rings. It all looked exactly the same. This guy, however, seemed to know exactly where he was leading them. Hailey was secretly grateful when Lacey finally questioned him about it.

"How do you know where to go? There's no path!"

"Been huntin' more than half m'life. I know how to read the ground to pick up on where animal's headed. Can do the same with human trails. Just followin' my own tracks back."

"Do you kill animals?"

"Yup."

"What kind of animals?"

"Whatever there is."

"Why?"

"Need food."

"Don't you want sometimes keep them as a pet?"

"Hell no. I ain't in need of no damn racoon to keep me company."

"Language."

"_Lacey_."

"Sorry, Hailey! I've never had a pet before. Mommy said maybe one day I could get a cat. But Daddy said that no. I even picked out a name for her. Do you wanna know what it is?"

"No."

"I was gunna name her Charlotte. Just like _Charlotte's Web_, except the Charlotte in that is a spider and I can't have one of those because I'm afraid of them. Are you afraid of spiders, Daryl?"

"No."

"I knew you'd say that. You're pro'ly not scared of anything in the whole wide world! If you were brave enough to save us from that monster, I'll bet you're brave of everything!"

Daryl finally stopped and turned to Hailey, he looked exasperated. "This kid ever shut the hell up?"

Hailey took hold of Lacey and picked her up as Daryl strode on ahead. "That's enough now Lacey. Daryl needs to concentrate on finding the way back to his camp. Why don't you and I have a little contest and see who can be quietest the longest?"

Lacey nodded eagerly, covering her own mouth with her chubby little hand.

As they neared the camp, Daryl seemed to become more distant, no longer answering Lacey's questions or looking back to ensure that they were keeping up with him. As the trees cleared, sound reached Hailey's ears. Voices. And children's laughter. The knot in Hailey's chest eased; he'd been telling the truth about the members of the group then.

"Hey Shane!" Daryl called out, his strides never slowing. He walked straight past the man he'd been speaking to. "Found those two out in the woods. Your problem now."

Hailey and Lacey moved forward slowly, all eyes were on them. The man Daryl had spoken to moved forward with a warm smile on his face, followed closely by a few others.

"Uh, welcome!" Shane said, extending his arms, gesturing to their camp. "I'm Shane."

"Hailey… this is my sister, Lacey."

"Well, it's an honest to God pleasure to meet you, Hailey. We've been hoping to find more survivors. Where'd the two of you come from?"

"Atlanta." Hailey answered, swallowing down the awful emotions the very word seemed to awaken within her. "We escaped from Atlanta yesterday."

Shane's eyes shot to her face, studying her. "You got out? I thought the place was overrun. Are they moving on elsewhere?"

"Shane." A tall, slim woman spoke firmly. "Don't you think all that can wait?"

Annoyance graced Shane's features but he masked it instantly with an embarrassed smile. "Hell, I'm sorry… just been a while since we've had any solid information about what's going on out there."

The woman moved forward, a soft smile on her face. "I'm Lori." She told them gently. "That over there's my son Carl, and Sophia's with him. And that's Sophia's mother, Carol."

A woman with cropped grey hair offered a smile. Hailey appreciated what was being said;_ we understand. We have someone to protect as well. You're not alone anymore. _

Lori crouched down to be level with Lacey. "And what was your name again, sweetie?"

"Lacey." She answered in a small voice, suddenly shy.

"Well Lacey, it's lovely to meet you." She held out her hand and Lacey shook it, earning her a smile from the young girl. "Tell me, when was the last time the two of you ate?"

"This morning." Hailey answered, realising just how hungry she actually was.

"We had to eat beans." Lacey told them, her nose scrunched in distaste. "I don't even like beans! But it's all we broughted. And Hailey hates them so much she made me eat them all up all by myself."

Lori and Carol each threw Hailey a sympathetic glance. They both understood all too well lately the need to sacrifice food so that a young child didn't go hungry.

"Here sweety, why don't you come with me?" Carol offered her hand to the tiny girl. "We just cooked up some dinner, would you like some?"

Lacey looked up at Hailey who nodded, before taking the woman's hand and following her over towards the small campfire.

"So when was the last time _you_ ate?" Lori asked once the tiny girl was out of ear shot.

Hailey let a tired smile escape onto her lips. "Almost two days ago."

Lori put and arm around Hailey's shoulders. "Come eat. There's enough to go around."

* * *

"Where did Daryl go?" Lacey asked.

Night had fallen and the survivors all sat together around a small campfire. Daryl had reappeared only to dump a dozen skinned squirrels at Shane's feet before walking away once again without a word. There they all sat, eating and talking. It was nice to be able to relax, if even for just a moment, and appreciate the company of other living beings. It had been too long since Hailey had been given the opportunity not to worry about what was lurking just around a corner, just outside a door… And it had been far too long since she'd heard Lacey laugh, and she'd been doing a great deal of that until her question shocked the camp into silence.

There were a few uncomfortable glances exchanged amongst the group before the older man, Dale, smiled kindly at her. "He tends to keep to himself most of the time. He's probably with his brother."

"He has a brother?"

"Uh yeah, he does…"

"Named what?"

"Merle Dixon."

"Is he a hero too?"

The blonde, Andrea, actually snorted at that. Dale looked totally stuck after that question, his eyes darted to the others, looking for help. Luckily for him, Lacey went on, once again excited to be talking about Daryl.

"Daryl saved us!" she boasted, he voice squeaking a little with excitement. "He shooted the monster right in the head! And then climbed up to get us. And he's going to teach me words that I'm not allowed to say-"

"He was joking about that, honey." Hailey cut in.

"Actually, I wouldn't be too sure about that." Shane leaned forward, looking Hailey right in the eye. He kept his voice low so that Lacey wouldn't hear him speak. "Those brothers are bad news. We haven't had too much trouble with either of 'em yet but you'd do best to stay clear of them. The kid too."

Lori nodded. "It was real good of him to bring the two of you back here, but don't mistake him for a saint. And_ certainly_ don't let that little girl look to him as any sort of hero. He and his brother are about as far from that as you can get."

Hailey nodded and smiled gently. "Noted. Thanks."

Andrea looked over at Hailey. "You look beat."

Hailey couldn't help but to laugh. Now there was an understatement.

"We didn't set up a tent for you or anything. We figured it'd be easier to find you blankets and everything by day light. For tonight, Dale, Amy and I are more than happy to share the Camper Van with you. It's warm and Amy and I can share a mattress so you and Lacey can have the other."

A lump rose in Hailey's throat. "Thank you." She managed to choke out. "Really, all of you. I can't tell you how-"

She had to stop herself as she felt the tears slip on to her cheek. She wiped them away hurriedly, embarrassed. She just wanted them to know… they'd actually saved their lives. How could she ever repay something like that?

"Nothing you need to be thanking us for." Shane told her. "You're one of us now. You and the kid. We look after each other. It's how we're going to make it through this."

After 'goodnights' were exchanged, Hailey lifted a sleepy Lacey into her arms and carried her towards the Camper Van. Lacey began dosing off before she'd even left the fireside. Hailey was grateful, perhaps they'd both get some sleep. Each night she prayed that Lacey could go one full night without having a nightmare.

Just as Hailey reached the door of the Camper she spotted another small fire a few metres away out of the corner of her eye. She turned towards it and saw two figures, features illuminated only slightly by the flames. Daryl Dixon and who must have been his brother, Merle. Hailey's eyes met Daryl's for only a fleeting moment before he cast them back to the flames.

_No good._ She reminded herself and stepped into the Camper Van.

She lay Lacey down on one of the mattress's and gently took off her shoes before curling up next to her and placing a protective arm around her. For now they were safe. For now, everything was ok. Finally, at long last, sleep came for her.

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**Alrighty! Leave a review with any thoughts you may have! Next chapter will include quite a bit of back story on the girls :) Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you all so, so much for your reviews! I'm so glad to know that you're enjoying it so far. Feedback is SUPER greatly appreciated! **

**I hope you enjoy this chapter! :) Let me know what you think!**

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The warmth of sunlight upon her face woke Hailey the following morning. She stretched and let out a content groan, rolling over sleepily to put her arm around Lacey. She missed so she reached a little further… and missed again. Hailey's eyes shot open, her heartbeat instantly increasing to three times it's normal speed. Lacey wasn't by her side, the mattress was cool.

"Lacey?" she stood quickly, looking around the cramped camper. Hailey stood up, ducking her head quickly to check beneath the table – there weren't exactly many place in there for someone to hide, even someone as small as Lacey.

Hailey hurried out of the RV, swearing under her breath, trying to keep calm. She squinted against the glare of the sun as she scanned the camp for any sign of her sister.

"Lacey?" She called out again, her voice sounding strung with panic.

"Good morning, Hailey!" Came the cheery voice from the top of the Camper. Dale smiled down at her, waving his binoculars. "How'd you sleep?"

"Dale, did you see where Lacey went?" Hailey asked quickly, ignoring Dale's pleasantries and trying not to sound as hysterical as she felt. God only knew how long ago that little girl had woken up and wandered off.

"She's over there." The young boy, Carl, pointed just beyond the RV. Hailey whipped around and spotted her instantly. She was sat on a log by a dying fire outside of the Dixon's tent, close to an uncomfortable looking Daryl Dixon who was cleaning his crossbow of with a tattered rag.

Hailey huffed and stormed over to the young girl, overwhelmed by the feelings of relief and fury battling for dominance within her, now that she knew she was safe.

She heard Lacey singing as she approached. Her tiny legs were swinging wildly as she recited what she thought to be the alphabet.

"_H, I, J, K, emmallello, P!"_

"Think you messed that last part up a little, Kid." Daryl muttered, his eyes never leaving his weapon.

"Where?" she asked, genuinely shocked.

Daryl huffed and wiped the sweat from his brow on the back of his wrist, looking frustrated. Lacey's gazed was fixed so resolutely on Daryl that she didn't notice her older sister approaching.

"Lacey!" Hailey snapped, her hands on her hips. The young girl spun to face her, instantly looking guilty as her eyes met Hailey's. "What have I told you? Never out of my sight, _ever_. If you need to go somewhere, you wake me up. What were thinking?"

Hailey's resolve crumpled as soon as Lacey gave a feeble shrug and guilt swelled within her. The poor girl had been through a rough few weeks, Hailey loosing her temper at her all because she'd woken up early wasn't fair. She sighed.

"Just wake me up next time, alright?" She said, far more gently.

Lacey jumped up instantly at that to cuddle her sister. Hailey lifted her up and squeezed her tight, relieved that she was alright.

"Daryl's been teaching me to sing the alphabet." Lacey chirped happily and Hailey couldn't help but to quirk an eyebrow at the hunter.

As soon as her eyes meet his, Daryl glanced away quickly. "Asked me to teach her them words I told her 'bout yesterday. Figured no one round here'd be too pleased if I followed through on that one."

Hailey couldn't help but to smile at that.

"How long have you been out here, Lacey?" she asked.

"Not long." She said.

"Long time." Daryl corrected her with a scoff.

"I'm sorry." Hailey offered genuinely. Really, it wasn't his responsibility to watch Lacey so that she could have a sleep in.

It appeared that Daryl had finished cleaning his crossbow. He hoisted it up and slung it over his shoulder without so much as a glance in Hailey's direction. Instead, he walked away, heading past the camper towards the water. He had a canteen in his hand – he was heading off once again to hunt.

"Wait." Hailey called, taking a few quick steps to follow him. He stopped and turned to look at her over his shoulder. "I never thanked you last night… for saving us."

"Was nothin'" He mumbled.

"No it wasn't. If it weren't for you, we'd still be out there… or, you know, worse…" Hailey cleared her throat uncomfortably and looked away, she wasn't good at this sort of thing. "Thank you, Daryl. Really, thank you."

Daryl stood there, awkwardly regripping his crossbow. "You done?" He asked slightly aggressively, not quite meeting her eye.

"Yeah." Hailey answered, feeling stupid.

He turned away from her again, resuming his march down to the water.

"_A, C, B, D, E, F, G."_

"Come on, button." She said, scooping the child up. "We're going to get some stuff together and then we'll go down to the water to wash up."

It wasn't until that moment that Hailey realised she actually had nothing to change Lacey into, or herself for that matter. She looked over towards the RV, Amy and Andrea were both roughly her size. Surely they'd have a shirt or two that she'd be able to borrow from them. It wasn't really herself that she was concerned about anyway. She was wearing jeans and a tank top, she was fine for now. Lacey, however, was in a flowery little dress, the one she'd been wearing while they'd hid in the city. The one she'd put on the morning that they'd heard the first strange story on the news… about the people with strange fevers who had been bitten…

Hailey shook the thought away and spotted Sophia and her mother. She sighed, determining that it was their most likely option.

Hailey offered a small smile once she reached them. "Morning, Carol."

"Good morning, Hailey. How'd you sleep last night?"

"Better than I have in a long time." She confessed. "Look… I hate having to ask this after everything you've all done for us already… but I don't have any clothes to put Lacey in. I was just hoping that maybe you'd have something of Sophia's…"

It was then that Ed approached, Carol's husband. Hailey had 'met' him the previous night, or rather Shane had introduced her and her sister to which Ed had grunted, mumbling something about 'more mouths to feed'. Hailey had a feeling that this man did little to nothing in terms of contributing to the group – let alone, taking on the responsibility of providing food for everyone. Hailey did her best not to scowl. She saw the way both Carol and Sophia flinched away from him whenever he moved suddenly or unexpectedly. She knew that fear all too well. She knew men like Ed.

"We ain't got nothin' that'll fit your kid." He told her. "'Sides I'm sure you'll understand that we gotta hold tight what little we got. Don't know how long we gon' be out here. Can't afford to go givin' shit away."

"Ed, I'm sure we can spare one shirt-" Carol cut herself off when Ed threw her a warning glare.

"That's ok, Carol." Hailey's eyes never left Ed, and she moved to stand in from of Lacey to hide her from his line of vision. "I'll ask around, see if anyone has anything we could borrow."

Once the sisters had turned to leave, Ed took hold of Carol's arm, pulling her dangerously close to him. "If we start givin' out clothes they'll want more than just that next time. They ain't none o' your concern. You need to start worryin' more about your own and not tryin' to coddle every damn kid that pouts at ya."

Hailey turned and took hold of Lacey's hand, guiding her away. "Lacey," Hailey murmured, once they were out of earshot. "I want you to stay away from that man, you understand me?"

They passed by Daryl as she spoke. Hailey didn't see it, but his eyes flicked up to her at her words, before his gaze fell upon Ed. Lacey had seen him though and she pulled away from Hailey in order to run towards him. He made no attempt to hide his groan upon seeing her approach.

"Are you going hunting again, Daryl?" She asked.

"Yup."

"Can I come with you?"

"_Hell _no."

"I'll be super quiet!"

Daryl snorted. "I doubt that, kid."

"When will you be back?"

"Dunno."

"Lacey, come here." Hailey called. She met Daryl's eye and once again he glanced away quickly. He took the opportunity to stride away from the young girl and her sister, heading for the tree line, into the woods.

"Bye Daryl!" Lacey shouted, waving enthusiastically to the back of the man's head. He didn't respond, he didn't so much as wave over his shoulder, but Lacey didn't seem phased at all. She was happy to watch him walk away, off to search for food.

Hailey watched Lacey stare after him. She knew the others had said she ought to discourage Lacey from looking up to Daryl but honestly she couldn't bring herself to do it. At least not yet. There'd been no harm done so far… in fact… Lacey hadn't cried today. She hadn't cried since Daryl had found them in that tree. He made her feel safe, she really saw him as her hero.

That rough, blunt, rude redneck. Hailey smiled a little, ignoring the concern that simultaneously rose up within her. She'd leave her be for the time being.

It was then that a voice shook her from her thoughts.

"I heard you were looking for clothes?"

Hailey turned towards the voice to find a man of roughly 30 standing behind her. He smiled warmly at her, his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He was a handsome man, tall and broad shouldered. His hair was black and his eyes a startling green.

"Hi," Hailey said gently. "Yeah I am. Mostly for this one. She really shouldn't be running around in a dress in these sort of conditions."

The man smiled. "I'm Grant. I have some stuff that the two of you are welcome to."

He held out a small bundle of clothes, pushing them into her arms. Shirts, singlets, socks, pants. Hailey was taken aback, staring at the gift the stranger offered freely to her. She looked up at him, speechless.

"They… they were my daughters… she uh, she didn't make it."

Hailey looked up at him, horrified. She held the clothes out to him, her hands shaking slightly.

"I can't take these from you."

"Please." He said gently. "It's what we do now. We help each other. You can't exactly let her run around in a dress for much longer."

Hailey offered a sad smile, "Thank you, Grant… if there's anything I can do for you, please just let me know."

He smiled at her once again before turned and retreating back to his tent.

"Are we going swimming?" Lacey piped up, shaking Hailey from her thoughts. She was still rather flustered by the kindness they were being offered by strangers.

"Yeah," she said finally. "Let's go."

* * *

Carol looked up from her washing to see Hailey spilling water over Lacey's head, doing her best to clean some of the grime out of her hair.

"She hasn't cried for her mother." Carol murmured.

"Huh?" Lori looked up from her washing.

"That little girl, she hasn't once cried for her mother. Daryl found them out in the woods, chased up a tree by a walker. She must have seen some horrible things coming from Atlanta… but she hasn't cried once for her mom."

Lori watched them for a moment, her brow furrowed, before returning her attention to Carl's dirty shirt.

* * *

When night fell, the survivors gathered around a small fire, their features only just illuminated. The fire barely kept them from shivering but it had been agreed that it were better to keep the embers low; they couldn't risk being seen from a distance. God only knew how many walkers were wandering around out there in the darkness.

Hailey sat with Amy and Andrea, each of them picking at a small can of tuna – their dinner. The canned supplies that the group had managed to salvage wasn't much, and a heavy tension hung over the group as they were all becoming far too aware of the fact that sooner or later a supply run would have to be made. Someone was going back into Atlanta.

Hailey stared into the dancing flames of their fire as she absently ran her fingers through Lacey's blonde waves. Her tiny head was rested on Hailey's lap where she'd fallen asleep. Hailey had covered her with her hoodie and let her be. She'd had a lot of trouble getting the little girl to sleep lately so she didn't want to risk waking her by moving her to a tent.

Hailey glanced up over the flames. Over beside the group was another small fire. Ed's fire. He sat, lounged back, with his wife and daughter sat opposite him. His property, Hailey determined and this time she didn't bite back her scowl.

Amy looked up and followed her gaze. "Circumstance sure did bring a strange group of people together." She murmured. "I think we've been lucky mostly… but that man…"

"Seen the bruises on Carol's arms?" Andrea asked, still chewing her tuna. "Look an awful lot like fingerprints to me. Like someone's been throwing her around."

"I know his type." Hailey told them, her eyes not leaving Ed. "My daddy was a drinker, he took to getting violent on occasion."

Amy glanced over at Hailey and then to Lacey's tiny frame. "He hit the two of you?"

"Not Lacey." Hailey answered. Her hand clutched protectively – instinctively – over the little girl. "Never her. Not yet… now I guess he'll never get the chance."

"He died? When-when it started." Amy prodded gently, too curious to leave the issue be.

"I don't know." She answered simply. "He wasn't with us when it all happened. I moved out of home as soon as I'd graduated. I rent a shoebox apartment in the city. Lacey's mom had brought her out to visit me while she went to run up some more credit card debt on more shoes she didn't need. Finding out where he is, that's the last thing I'm concerned with doing."

"Lacey's mom." Andrea repeated. "Not yours, too?"

Hailey looked up at the sisters, their eyes were glued to her, waiting for answers. It's not like Hailey could blame them for their curiosity. There wasn't really much for any of them to do for entertainment at the camp, especially at night. And in truth, Hailey had been wondering herself about where each of them had come from, how they'd all been so lucky to escape the Dead, alive and unharmed.

"You guys aren't going to give until I spill, are you?" She said with a smirk on her face.

"Not like there's anything else to do," Amy smiled at her. "Pretty sure _Desperate Housewives_ is experiencing some sort of hiatus right about now."

Hailey laughed a little, admitting defeat. They were going to keep prodding until they got her story out of her. It wasn't like any of it mattered anymore anyway. It sort of seemed erased now – irrelevant. Wherever they'd come from, whatever they'd been… there was no going back to that.

"My mom died when I was little. Cancer. When she first got sick they did the best they could but we weren't exactly well off, and between the Doctor's bills and the medicine… it all adds up. They really must have struggled, and I've got a few good memories of them both back before all that. They did their best, and they were good people but they were only kids themselves – both seventeen when mom fell pregnant with me.

"Mom just kept getting sicker and we could barely afford to eat by the end of it. I still can't bear to eat canned beans; it's all I lived on for a good six months. After mom died, Dad was left with a five year old daughter and a hell of a lot of unpaid medical bills. He started drinking. I was six years old the first time he hit me."

Andrea followed Hailey's gaze, she was staring at Carol's fragile looking daughter, Sophia.

"As I got older, I kind of withdrew into myself. I decided I wanted to make something of myself, looking around and seeing all the kids with their nice, new clothes and talking about holidays their families went on and their new phones and computers. I wanted all that, but I knew I'd have to make it for myself, so I buckled down and studied hard for the last four years of high school. Graduated top of my class and moved to Atlanta, worked two jobs to pay the rent and get myself through college.

"_Then_ a year after I left home, Dad won the lottery." Hailey smirked at the looks of horror on each of the girl's faces. "Funny how things work out, huh? He bought the big house and the fancy car. Blew a lot of it on a trip to Vegas and came back with a wife – a stripper he met there named Chastity. She's only a year older than me. She had Lacey ten months after they met and I tried not to care. I didn't want a part of it at all but when I first saw that tiny little baby girl in her crib with our drunken Father yelling at her 'no good, dumbass bitch' of a mother… I realised he hadn't changed. All the money in the world wasn't going to make him happy. Men like him will always be miserable. And I was _never _going to let him do to her what he did to me. I honestly think I've spent more time raising her than the two of them combined."

Amy and Andrea sat in silence, letting the story sink in. She had spoken so disconnectedly about it – like she'd been explaining the plot of some movie she'd watched a week before. She looked at them and saw the sympathy and the horror in their eyes. She only smiled.

"Everyone's got a sob story." Hailey murmured. "And I really think what each and every person here has experienced in the last few weeks puts anything before that into perspective. I really think I had it pretty good before, you know, by comparison."

They sat in silence for a while, all staring at the fire before them, all lost in thought.

"Hailey… how did you get out of Atlanta alive?" Andrea asked. Out of the corner of her eye Hailey saw both Shane and Lori glance towards her. "The city is crawling with those things. We were sure anyone left in there was dead. How'd you make it out?"

Hailey opened her mouth, attempting to form words. Her heart started to race and she did her best to remain calm. She couldn't talk about that. Not with strangers. Not with the group of people who had taken them in and fed them, kept them safe… the people who could turn them away, force them back into that world of running… alone… if they knew-

"Well, what have we got here?" Came a startlingly loud voice.

All eyes shot towards the approaching figure of Merle Dixon. Instantly the atmosphere changed completely, every member of the group seemed to tense up.

"Hey Shane, I heard you yesterday introducin' the fresh meet to these yahoos. You forget about ol' Merle or somethin'?"

* * *

**Thanks once again for reading! Any feedback you might have would be great! I'm going to try my best to get one more chapter up before Christmas! But if not, Happy Holidays everyone! I hope Santa is good to all of you :)**


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